Mind the Thorns
Fragrant moments
spent alone
wandering
among silken petals
and sharp points
that promise
to make you bleed
if you get
too close
so scent
the sweetness
but do not touch
for these beauties
will bite
Month: June 2025
Why Is He Sitting?
Today’s meditation was nine minutes long, and one of the #DailyTrip sessions from the @Calm app. Active listening and falling into sound.
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The @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June 13 : Rest
Today’s draw is the King of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of a projective alpha energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s financial security, resources, health, home, labors, manifestations, and other elements of the physical realm. This often translates into leadership that creates a grounded sense of stability for others.
Notice that it is extremely rare to see the kings of any suit in the tarot standing. They are always seated. This is because their responsibility resides in delegation. They create stability by making sure everyone works together, that those with something to say get heard, and by overseeing more than doing with their own two hands.
The message in today’s card and prompt combo is that a leader delegates. They aren’t out there working their knees and fingers to the bone, but rather they are creating stability through sharing their long earned knowledge with others, then delegating them to take over the tasks involved with those skills that have been shared.
DECK USED: TAROCCHINO AL SOLDATO ANIMA ANTIQUA
#DiscordTarotholicsJun2025 Challenge
Philosophical Question for June 11th : What is something you believe but cannot prove?
Summary: You believe that once uncertainty comes calling (Doubt), retreating into alone time (Protect) creates an environment for healing (Leaves).
Take Away: I’m actually pretty sure that the reason that I cannot prove that this is true is because it’s actually not true.
And yet, again and again when I feel a sense of doubt and uncertainty, I retreat into myself to hide away from the world until I feel better. It’s more likely that the eventual “feeling better” could simply be because I’ve riden out those unhealthy emotions, though, instead of that the alone time is actually creating a healing environment for me.
Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Foraged Wood Fern for Exorcising Negative Influences
Ammonite for a Sense of Stability During Times of Change
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECK USED: SQUIRREL CARDS
Bonus Reading:
Friday 13th XRoads Spread by The Unfaithful Nightlight
What you need to release.
The Tower atop Red Phoenix 10 (Ten of Cups) – Let go of the idea that happiness only comes after the chaos has passed. True happiness is found within the chaos and uncertainty. Happiness is something that you must consciously connect with in the day-to-day, no matter what else is going on in your life.
What crosses your path to help you.
Red Phoenix Ace (Ace of Cups) – You are on a journey of self discovery, where you are learning about all the emotions that you didn’t have the opportunity to learn about when you were younger. You can’t learn about these if they aren’t going to come to the fore. Thus, looking at them as foreign invaders is detrimental to your growth.
What you need to do to protect this new opportunity.
The Lovers atop Black Tortoise 8 (Eight of Wands) – Don’t give yourself time to second guess. Instead, move toward what is right for you with a alacrity. That means not just with speed but also joy. Accept what is right and good for you without question. You’ve always been good at knowing instinctively what those things are.
Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Orange Aventurine Leaves for Pause and Reflection
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECK USED: FENG SHUI TAROT
I took some time to myself outside to myself to take some pictures of roses.
Gideon’s Challenge – Lil’ Shokz Holder
Lil’ Shokz Holder
A little guardian
just for me
a bit of green
that lives
in a tree
brought to live
inside my home
to cling on tight
to what I own
and keep my music
safe and sound
for when I’m home
not wearing it ’round.
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast
Today’s meditation was skipped.
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The @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June 12 : Growth
Today’s draw is the Temperance card, which is traditionally a representation of moderation, balance, slowing down, practicing patience, and can at times represent a connection between the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
Sometimes to reach your targets “slow is smooth, and smooth is fast” is the way to go. (Yes, I grew up in a US Navy town.)
This means that by taking that extra time for a pause and a breath, you actually gain your objective quicker than if you had skipped it and plowed ahead.
Today’s message tells us that there is always time for a breath. There is always time for a pause, even when it doesn’t feel like it. There is always time to set one’s intention, to check in with yourself and your inner moral compass, to pause a moment to calm the mind. You just have to take it instead of buying into the idea that there’s no time for anything but immediate and thoughtless reaction.
The message for today is about mindfulness, encouraging living life more mindfully, even when things are hectic or chaotic. Maybe? Especially then.
DECK USED: GIVENCHY’S FRENCH TAROT
@LightningWildflower‘s June Tarot Challenge
Expansion Prompts for June 10th thru 12th
How can I move beyond my comfort zone?
The Lobster – Growth requires release. This is why some of our greatest moments of growth happen during uncertainty and chaos, for it’s when we let down our protections and defenses (or they are torn away from us) and we are vulnerable that we are at our most malleable. The lobster makes a choice to discard its old shell so a new one can develop in its place that fits the lobster better. You don’t have to wait for life to throw destruction and chaos at you. Choosing to change works just as well.
In what way am I being asked to accept new growth?
The Albatross’ Voyage – You are learning to take new growth at a slower pace. So much of your life, you have plowed forward into each challenge with the mindset of devouring, obliterating, or just plain out-running anything in your way. Now you are at a point where patience and perseverance are key rather than the force of a wrecking ball’s pure determination.
What horizons are opening up for me?
The Abyss – Inner exploration is your path forward. These types of challenges and opportunities take time, patience, and perseverance, as well as a willingness allow your vulnerabilities to be unearthed and exposed.
Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Fuchsia Flowers for Stability in the Face of External Disruption
Flower Agate Moon for Opening the Mind to New Possibilities
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECK USED: THE DREAMING WAVES ORACLE
I put my nose to the grindstone to make sure that I got all the orders done so that I could shift the dates of my time off to start this weekend instead of mid-week of next week.
Gideon’s Challenge – Hidden Stench
Hidden Stench
What the hell
is that smell
pungent
and repugnant
musty
and sharp
that sticks
to the back
of the tongue
and clogs
the airways
making the jaw
ache
in a grimace
of distaste
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
You’ve Earned It
Today’s meditation was skipped.
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The @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June 11 : Fun
Today’s draw is the Nine of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of solitary satisfaction, a job well done, self-sufficiency, abundance, financial independence, and luxury earned through hard work.
It’s okay to enjoy your rewards. You worked hard to get to where you are. There’s nothing wrong or shameful in enjoying it.
The suggestion in today’s card and prompt combo is that instead of furthering your self-inflicted perceptions of scarcity that push you to always do (and be) more, try to allow yourself to take that security and stability you’ve earned and have some fun with it.
DECK USED: THE SPIRITUAL TAROT
@Lionharts #TheJuneTarot Radiance Rising Challenge
Prompt for June 11th : The Current Spread
What deeper truth is rising like a tide I can no longer hold back?
Octopus – Your weak boundaries can easily become a detriment to you. Stop ignoring the cracks in your boundaries. Instead of turning a blind eye, work with your therapist and Gideon to find ways to strengthen them that you are comfortable with and can accept.
What energy is quietly shaping the silhouette of who I’m becoming?
Spider – You are “the earner”. To balance this out you need to have more fun and introduce more playfully creative activities into your life. Steer the ship in the direction that you want it to go, because if you let it steer itself it’ll crash on the shoals. If you want to add more fun and joy into your life, you need to begin instilling that into your life today… not down the road when there’s more time or opportunity to do so.
What unseen current is beginning to turn the wheel forward?
Dragonfly – Pay attention to how often you are skipping your meditation practice. Work on giving yourself those few minutes each day just to breathe. You are gaining a better sense of balance and clarity through this practice. Keep it up.
Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECK USED: WILD UNKNOWN ANIMAL SPIRIT ORACLE
I intentionally stalled my doc long enough after he gave me the freezing shot that by the time he started working on me in earnest, the stuff had actually kicked in.
Twisting the Leaf 